Pressey, Missouri rout Alcorn State

Columbia, MO (Sports Network) - Phil Pressey scored a game-high 21 points and
the No.14 Missouri Tigers punished the Alcorn State Braves, 91-54, outscoring
them by 30 points in the second half.

Earnest Ross and Alex Oriakhi each posted double-doubles in the win for
Missouri (2-0). Ross finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds while Oriakhi
tallied 12 points and 10 boards for the Tigers, who defeated SIU-Edwardsville
in their season-opener.

"I thought we came out in the second half, got it going defensively, knocked
some balls loose, executed a lot better and we made some nice adjustment in
terms of how we played in the second half," Missouri head coach Frank Haith
said.

LeAntwan Luckett led the way for the Braves (1-1) with 14 points and Anthony
Nieves added 13 for Alcorn State, which was coming off a season-opening
victory against Oakwood.

"My team and I learned that when you play on the road against a good team in a
hostile environment, you have to play for forty minutes. You can't play for
twenty minutes or even fifteen minutes, you have to play for forty minutes,"
Alcorn State Luther Riley said.

Alcorn State hung tight with Missouri through the first 20 minutes and trailed
by just seven heading into the second half.

A jumper by Michael Starks pulled the Braves within two with 2:35 to go in the
first half, but the Tigers scored the final five points of the period for a
30-23 advantage heading into the break.

The Tigers pounced all over the Braves early in the second stanza, building a
20-point lead following Ross's three-point play less than five minutes in.

The Braves never recovered and were unable to cut the deficit to single digits
the rest of the way. Missouri led by as many as 40 after Tony Criswell
connected on 1-of-2 from the line with 1:32 left in the game.

Game Notes

Alcorn State had 16 turnovers compared to Missouri's 9 ... The Tigers
outrebounded the Braves by 16 ... Laurence Bowers was the only other Tiger in
double-figures, scoring 14 points and blocking three shots.